Disliked Worker – IT Surgery – I have done well but people do not like me

Disliked Worker

This question comes form a disliked worker who wants to get on better with what she calls ‘les miserables’.

Susan – I work very hard, and very effectively, to my mind, for a US investment bank in the City. However, a lot of people at the company where I work seem to resent me for it. I never get invited out for drinks after work. I‘m sure that they all talk behind my back. Those at the company that matter appreciate me though. So, I‘ve managed to do very well in terms of salary increases and promotions over the last two years.

At the age of 26, I‘m in charge of a team of 14 and earn 52 grand a year, so I haven‘t done too badly have I? Should I try and make an approach to some of ‘les miserables‘ or should I put them aside and just concentrate on my blossoming career.

Dr. McLaughlin’s IT Surgery Advice on Disliked Worker

Well Susan, you have done very well, and I‘m sure that you are going to do very well in the future. I‘m also sure that I‘m teaching you to suck eggs when I tell you that. You seem a very confident young woman.

However, if you want to get on with the ‘lesser beings‘ in your department, you need to empathise with them a bit more. Referring to your bosses as ‘those that matter‘ would seem to suggest that the ones that you don‘t get on well with, who are lower down in the hierarchy are ‘those that don‘t matter‘. You also refer to them as ‘les miserables‘.

I suspect that your attitude to them shines through brightly. They know how you perceive them. This, and your frequent promotions and pay rises, will not make it easy for you and they to become bosom buddies.

Why not take a step towards them?

Why not invite them out for a drink – or at least those that most want to come? Try to think of them as people, and not just unimportant colleagues in the work hierarchy. You‘ll find that if you do that, they‘ll start to warm to you.

If you don‘t want to do that, then just think of your own security. You never know when one of them might put the boot into you to senior management if you ever put a foot wrong.